PREFACE 



This book makes a popular appeal to all men engaged in farming, 

 whether amateurs or professionals. It is designed to be a handy reference 

 work on the cultivation and management of farm crops. Technical terms 

 and lengthy discussions have been avoided. 



Ages of farm experience and a few generations of agricultural research 

 have given us a vast store of practical knowledge on tilling the soil and 

 raising crops. This knowledge is scattered through many different volumes 

 on different phases of the subject, in experiment station bulletins, agri- 

 cultural journals and encyclopedias. The important facts on which the 

 most successful farming is based are here brought together in readable 

 form. 



The subject-matter is arranged in three parts, the first dealing with 

 the various farm crops, their selection and cultivation; the second with 

 the diseases of farm crops and their remedies, insect pests and their control, 

 and insecticides and fungicides; and the third includes valuable tables 

 of agricultural statistics showing the cost per acre of producing farm crops, 

 the fertility of farm produce, percentage composition of agricultural 

 products and so forth. 



Each department has been prepared by a specialist in the subject 

 presented, and his name appears at the beginning of each chapter. Those 

 unacknowledged have been prepared by myself. References are given 

 here and there to books and pamphlets that may be helpful to the farmer 

 who wishes to have more exhaustive information on specific subjects. 



The illustrations have been secured from many sources. Due credit 

 has been given these. 



Special acknowledgment is due the publishers of this volume and 

 the other volumes in the series for their conception and for many helpful 

 suggestions in the presentation of the subject-matter. 



Acknowledgment is also due Professor E. L. Worthen and Professor 

 R. S. Smith, both of the Pennsylvania State College, for helpful sugges- 

 tions and criticisms on crop rotations. I wish also to especially acknowl- 

 edge the valuable editorial assistance of my wife in the preparation of 

 the manuscript. 



Frank D. Gardner. 



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